


Commonwealth Blues

by lupine_lunaa



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-17
Updated: 2018-01-15
Packaged: 2019-02-15 22:13:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13040517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lupine_lunaa/pseuds/lupine_lunaa
Summary: What do you do when you wake up 200 years after a war broke out?Follow Nicole (Sole Survivor) on her journey through the Commonwealth as she tries to get a grip on her new life, find her son, and deal with a nosey reporter who seems to be stealing her heart.





	1. Escape from 111

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all! I've been an avid reader of many fanfics on this site and I decided to try and write my own. This will be my first work every posted and I am very excited for any feedback! Leave kudos and comments please! I'd love to know what you all think :D

War, war certainly never changes.

Before the bombs dropped, Nicole had been living with her husband Nate and their child Shaun. Well, to outsiders that is what it at least looked like. Shaun had been adopted by the two and Nicole wasn’t truly in love with Nate and vice versa. The two married out of necessity and to get their families off of their backs about finding a husband or wife. They put on the façade of the perfect family, but the two truly didn’t love each other. They were best friends more than anything, both caring for Shaun. After they had adopted him, they both ended up moving into Sanctuary, feeling it was better for their son and it being somewhat of a getaway from their families.

Nate and Nicole both hid the fact that they were both gay, not from each other but from anyone else. They would stay up late, talking about the damn politics that prevented them from being with who they wanted. And now, since they had adopted Shaun, there was no way they would divorce. They both wanted to, but they didn’t want to seem like broken parents to their son and wanted him to grow up with a family that was still together. The two came to an agreement, if they had lovers, they could be with them. Obviously, they just couldn’t bring them to the house, it being the one ground rule.

Nicole’s life before was always a struggle since she had been living a lie, but she was happy. She enjoyed Nate’s company and their adopted son, the two being why she put up with it. If it had been someone else she had married, she didn’t think she would have been able to last. But this was all before the bombs fell…

 

Now Nicole woke up in a panic, practically kicking the door open to the cryo pod (even though it had opened on its own). She falls onto her knees as she coughs, her legs hadn’t been used in so long, she needed a minute to compose herself. When she was ready, she slowly stands and looks around. “Hello?” Nicole calls out, but there was no answer. She gulps and then looks to the cryo pod in front of her, memories soon flooding her mind.

I won’t let you take my baby!

Her hands started shaking as she quickly opens the cryo pod, frowning deeply as she stares at Nate’s lifeless body. “I’m so sorry…” She whispers, deciding to leave her wedding ring with him. “I’ll find Shaun…I promise I will and I won’t let him forget who you are.” Her voice cracks at that. They may have not loved each other as husband and wife, but they were as close as can be and it broke her heart to see her dear friend like this.

After a few more moments of sorrow, Nicole takes in a deep breath and then slowly lets it out. She needed to get out of here. The woman looks towards the door they had come through and breaks into a run, beginning to make her way through the vault. Nicole groans as she hits one of the buttons to a door, but it doesn’t budge. She looks around before finding another one, quickly making her way through it. Her heart was racing and then she skids to a stop, her eyes going wide when she comes across a giant…cockroach? That thing could eat her. She scans the room and finds a police baton, quickly grabbing for it as soon as the roach screeched. It came at her and before it got close enough to attack, she smashes its head with the baton. This couldn’t be real…could it? Her mind was racing like crazy as she made her way through the vault. What else was waiting outside of this vault? Was there anyone else even alive? Nicole just had to wait and found out for herself. As she made her way, she ran into even more roaches, taking them out just as quickly. Killing them was way too easy.

Finally, she came to the opening of the vault, scratches covering her body from her scuffles with the roaches. Nicole looks around and nearly pisses herself as she finds skeletons of more people, having come across some in other rooms and halls. Was no one alive? She thinks to herself once again before looking around the area. A skeleton with a Vault-Tec lab coat caught her attention and she kneels down, realizing there was a Pip-Boy around its wrist. Nicole carefully takes it off, trying her best not to disturb the body. She takes the time to dust it off and turn it on, waiting for it to load before playing around with the buttons. The woman nods as she realizes it would work. When she stands, the control pad to open the vault was in front of her. Nicole raises a brow and then realizes she needs to use the Pip-Boy. The woman looks it over once more, finding a cable and pulling it out, clicking the end of it into place. The lid covering a red square button opens up and she slams it as hard as she could. Nicole quickly covers her ears as the alarms blare, the door beginning to open. Her heart rate began to pick up as thoughts about what could be out there filled her mind.

Once the door opened, she lowers her arms and then slowly makes her way towards the main elevator. It creaked and groaned as it made its way back down, Nicole ‘s breathing becomes heavy as she kept getting closer and closer to the outside world. The elevator stopped with a screeching halt and her gulp echoes throughout the area. This was it…she would see what was left of her home. Nicole steps into the elevator as an automated voice speaks up. “Thank you for your stay in Vault 111.” The voice seemed to mock her as the elevator took her up, the woman not realizing she was holding her breath.

 

The smell of fresh air hits her nose as the elevator comes to a stop. Nicole lets out the breath she had been holding and then slowly looks around. “Holy shit…” She whispers as her legs begin to take her away from the platform. There were more skeletons lying around, the woman finding a few med boxes and weapon boxes to scrounge through. She came up with a couple of stimpaks, a radaway and some frag grenades, but that was about it. Nicole groans and looks to the police baton she carried. “If I die, can I at least die with a gun in my hand?” She asks no one, beginning to make her way back down to whatever was left of her home. More bodies caught her eye and she remembers as if it were yesterday. People had been screaming and arguing, everyone trying to get into the vault but the soldiers standing guard had only let those on the list inside. It all fades away as she crosses the small bridge into Sanctuary. The houses were mostly all destroyed, only a handful of them still standing. Nicole looks towards the right, taking in that part of the neighborhood and then turns to the left, her eyes going wide.

“Codsworth!?”

A Mr. Handy robot had just floated out of her old home, quickly turning at hearing his name. “Mum? Oh my! It really is you!” He quickly goes over to her. “I have missed you! Where is sir and little Shaun?” He asks, his eyes looking around. Nicole couldn’t help but to frown. “Nate…is dead.” She says softly. “And Shaun has been kidnapped.” The robot looks to her, his eyes seeming to widen. “Surely that is a joke mum. You’re probably just delusional, most likely hungry! How about I make some dinner for you? You’ve been late for at least two centuries.” Nicole groans as the robot didn’t listen. “Codsworth I am not joking about this…as much as I wish it was a joke…” She then blinks a couple of times as she processes the last part of what he said. “Excuse me…did you just say two centuries?” Codsworth shifts his eyes before focusing on her again. “Correct. Maybe two hundred and ten, give or take.” Nicole was floored. Over two hundred years of being frozen?

“Mum?” Codsworth pulls her from her thoughts and she looks to him. “Sorry…I got lost in my thoughts.” Nicole answers him. “Are…are you okay Codsworth?” The robot goes quiet for a few seconds before opening up. “I-I just didn’t know what to do mum. You and sir and young Shaun left so fast and I didn’t know if I would see you ever again. I’ve been so lonely! Do you know how hard it is to wax radiated stained floors?” Nicole listens to him and then places her hand on his metal frame. “It’s okay now Codsworth…I’m here.” She says softly. He seems to reign in his panic, looking at her. “Of course, mum.” Codsworth then seems to change. “How about we look around? Maybe sir and young Shaun are somewhere around here.” Nicole wanted to argue, but maybe this would give Codsworth some closure. She agrees and begins to follow him around, the two taking down some giant flies and other roaches as they made their way around the neighborhood.

By the time they both finished, Nicole cleans off some bug guts from her baton, looking to her only friend. “They really are gone?” Codsworth asks her and she nods sadly. “Yes, they are.” She looks towards their old home before the robot straightens up. “Well, you cannot give up mum. I’m sure young Shaun is somewhere out there, waiting for you.” The woman couldn’t help but to smile at him, nodding. “I know. I don’t plan on giving up so easily. Any clue on where I can start?” The robot hums to himself as he thinks, seeming to nod. “There are some people over in Concord. They’ve only shot at me once or twice while I’ve gone there. Maybe they can be of some help?” Nicole nods and then looks back towards the house. “Alright, I shall go there…but I need to do something first.” The woman then moves away from the robot, heading into their old home. Her green eyes scan the area, her brows furrowed with sadness as she remembers the memories. She knew she wouldn’t be able to bring herself to stay here. It hurt too much. Nicole walks to her old room that she shared with Nate, looking at all the destroyed furniture. A heavy sigh leaves her as she turns to face Shaun’s room, staring at the crib. “I’ll find him…I will get him back.” With that, the woman leaves the house, scavenging throughout the other homes. Nicole finds a backpack suitable to carry whatever supplies she found. Once satisfied, the woman says her goodbyes to Codsworth, leaving her old neighborhood to head to Concord.


	2. Concord

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole makes her way to Concord.

So much has changed since the bombs had fallen. Nicole could barely recognize the area as she traveled the road towards Concord, the police baton being held tightly in her hand. Her brows furrowed in sadness as she recalls memories of her past, Nate having taken her on a date in Concord when it was an actual town, not some run down place it probably was now. The woman stops walking and then sits down on a boulder on the side of the road. She had been trying to control her emotions this whole time, but now that her adrenaline was gone and she was alone, they all came to her. Tears began falling as she curses at herself, trying to pull herself back together. None of it was working. Sobs broke through the quiet that surrounded her as she broke down, realizing that she was alone in this new and confusing world. A memory of her and Nate comes to her as she cries, it only beginning to make her cry even more.

_Nate decided to take them out for a night on the town. It had been awhile since they were able to actually have fun since they had both been busy with him being in the military and her being a lawyer. Nicole was grateful for having such a great friend and she decided to go along with his plan. She dressed up to look as nice as she could and then followed Nate to a taxi outside their home._

_“Relax Nicole, it’s going to be nothing but fun. You were too much and I can tell it is starting to get to you.” Nate says as they sit in the backseat. Nicole rolls her eyes but smiles. “I know. I just get caught up in my cases and I can’t help myself.” She pats his hand gently. “Thank you. I think I wouldn’t have taken a break until I crashed.” She says truthfully, Nate letting out a chuckle._

_The taxi takes them to a bar called The Rusted Nail. It was one of their favorites to frequent, especially since it wasn’t too far off from a club that suited both of their needs. The two head inside and Nate buys them drinks, taking her to a table off in the corner. “Alright, now it is time for the fun.” Nate grins as he looks around. “Which lucky guy should I go have a chat with?” Nicole takes a sip of her drink, rum and nuka cola, before she looks around the whole area. “Hmmm...I vote the tall one with the scarf on.” Nate looks until he finds the man, a blush forming on his cheeks. “You seriously have good taste.” Nicole couldn’t help but smile at his comment, giggling as Nate ducked his head when the man looked over. “You should feed my ego more often.” She winks at him and then nudges his shoulder. “Now go get him. He is clearly waiting.” Nate looks to her and then downs the rest of his drink. “Watch the master.” Nicole shakes her head and smiles as she watches Nate go over to the man, the two beginning to chat. That is why this place was one of her favorites. Nate could be himself and talk to whatever man he wanted to. This place was friendly to those in the LGBT community and it was sort of a home away from home for a lot of people. ___

__A bark cuts off her memory and she looks up, seeing a german shepherd a few feet away. The dog whines slightly as it slowly walks up to her. “W-what are you doing out here on your own?” Nicole asks, her brows raised in surprise. The dog whimpers a bit and stops in front of her, it’s ears flat. “No owner then…” She says softly and then reaches her hand out, gently stroking its cheek. Nicole leans over a bit, checking underneath the dog. “Ah, you’re a boy.” The dog barks happily and he then begins to lick her face, the woman’s sadness being pushed to the side as she begins to laugh. “And you’re a kisser!” She laughs some more, beginning to stroke the dog's fur. His ears perk up and his tail begins wagging like crazy as he knocks Nicole off of the rock, continuing to attack her face. “Ah! Alright alright!” The dog stops and then backs away, sitting down as he watches Nicole stand back up. “Would you like to travel with me boy?” She asks and he barks, the woman considering it as a yes. Her green eyes look him over and then she notices a collar. Nicole kneels down to look at the tag and she raises a brow. “Dogmeat?” The dog barks once again and nuzzles her. “Interesting name, but I have a feeling it suits you.” She chuckles. Dogmeat nuzzles her and then lifts his head up, his ears perking up. Nicole watches him and then looks down the road, noticing some creatures moving about. She stands and grabs her police baton as Dogmeat starts growling, the creatures digging into the ground. Her heart rate started picking up as she looks around, the woman getting caught off guard as one of the creatures comes from the ground, knocking her down. “Shit!” The baton goes skidding across the road and she tries to push whatever tackled her off. Her eyes go wide at seeing a bigger version of a naked mole rat. “What the hell!?” She yells, fighting to keep it from biting at her. Dogmeat barks and snarls as he begins attacking another one that popped up. Nicole’s thoughts started racing as she tries to think of what to do. She eyes her baton out of the corner of her eye, glancing at it before crying out. The ten seconds of focusing on her attention, the mole rat on her bit into her arm. At this point, she starts punching it repeatedly with her free hand, trying to get it to let go. “Fuck!” She screams as it bites even harder. Dogmeat barks loudly and then jumps onto the mole rat’s back, biting the back of its neck. The mole rat screeches and lets go of Nicole, the woman quickly moving to grab the baton. She turns and begins hitting it repeatedly in the head, not stopping until it was dead._ _

__The two ended up sitting at the Red Rocket gas station not too far off. She was sitting against a wall, looking at her arm. “Damn rodent.” The woman digs through her bag, pulling out the one purified water she had and then using one of her stimpaks. She sighs heavily and then pours some of it on her arm, hissing from the pain. “Good job boy.” She looks to Dogmeat, the animal barking and then whining softly. “I’ll be okay boy. It just hurts.” Nicole then stands up, going into the gas station. She begins digging through everything, finding a few clothes that seemed decently clean. Her teeth grind together as she ties them over the wound, making sure it was covered completely. “Alright, now let’s continue to Concord…” She pats Dogmeat’s head gently before leaving the gas station. “C’mon boy.”_ _

__The two arrive in Concord, Nicole looking around as she grips her baton tightly. Her eyes look around the barren town, unable to believe that it looked so destroyed and that it was so empty. Nicole stops walking as she stands in front of a run-down building, it’s windows shattered and the sign for the place destroyed. “The Rusted Nail...So many damn memories here.” She places her hand on the door, unable to get herself to go inside. Nicole didn’t want to ruin the memories she had left of the place, her brows furrowing as one popped up in her mind._ _

___A woman with dirty blonde hair and grey eyes walks up to Nicole while she sat at one of the many tables in the bar. The woman sits across from her and smiles, tipping her drink to the other. “What’s a woman like you doing over here all alone?” She asks and Nicole moves some of her hair behind her ear. “My friend went to the club across the way to hang out with some guy I told him to flirt with.” Nicole laughs a bit and the woman nods. “Well...at least he is having some fun...seems like you should be able to have some fun yourself.” Nicole thinks to herself before smiling and downing the rest of her drink. “Let’s go across the way then, see where the night takes us.” The two women then make their way out of the bar, both wondering how well this night would end up going._ _ _

__Nicole jumps a bit as she pulls herself from the memory, her hand shaking as she shakes her head. “She would’ve been the one too…” The woman looks down as Dogmeat nudges her hand gently, whining. “I’m okay boy, don’t worry.” Her head turns quickly as she hears gunshots, quickly focusing on the fact there was danger close by. Dogmeat gets low and begins to head towards the gunshots, Nicole hesitating before following, keeping low as well._ _

__“C’mon! We need to get in and take them out!” A man yells, followed by more gunshots._ _

__“You all won’t last in there! Once we get in, we will kill those people and save you for last!”_ _

__“Gah!” One yells as they were shot down._ _

__Nicole peeks out from behind a car and watches as four people fire at the building towards the end of the road. A laser cuts through the air and takes one of them down. “You won’t harm them!” The man on the balcony calls out. Well...looks like he is the one who needs help…_ _

__She looks to Dogmeat and then places her hand on his back. “Attack,” Nicole says softly, unsure if the dog would understand. Dogmeat lifts himself up before running out from behind the car, taking down one of the attackers. Nicole blinks a couple of times, clearly surprised. With a deep breath, she begins to make her way closer, trying to stay hidden. “Get that damn dog!” A woman yells and Nicole stops moving, the woman right in her path. Nicole gulps as she hesitates to move, knowing that she needed to take this woman down. It was hard for her though. The woman before her was human. She was no animal like the roach or the mole rat. Dread began to spread through her and her hands start shaking as she begins to understand what she was about to commit to._ _

__Before she could move though, the woman turns and notices her. “We got one here!” She moved to raise her gun, but the police baton smacks into her face, knocking her down. Nicole stands up as she raises the baton and smacks it into her face again, and again, and again, stopping when she was sure the woman wouldn’t get back up. Dogmeat barks as he takes down the last attacker. Nicole drops her baton and moves behind the car, throwing up whatever was left in her stomach. She holds herself as she realizes what she had done. “Shit...shit...shit…” Her voice wavered as she closes her eyes tightly. “You had to...you had to or you would’ve been dead…”  
“Hey, you! Get in here before more show up!” The man from the balcony yells before disappearing. Nicole wipes her eyes and tries to compose herself. She turns to the bodies around them before gathering up the courage to scavenge from them. Nicole ended up finding a .44 revolver as well as some rounds for it. She even ends up finding some frag grenades, stuffing them carefully into her bag. When she finishes scavenging, she makes her way into the building, going in as a changed woman._ _

__xxx_ _

__Nicole stood at the bottom of the building, wearing a suit of power armor. She held onto a minigun, trying to scare off the people known as Raiders. The man from the balcony, Preston Garvey, told her about them and his struggles of protecting the people he was with. The woman had decided to help him out. Her heart was racing and her ears rang as she fired the minigun, Dogmeat going and attacking whoever he could. This wasn’t how she pictured her life. She hadn’t killed before...but now...now it scared her with how easily she accepted it. It was for her own safety. These Raiders would end up killing her if she didn’t fight back, right?_ _

__A Raider began screaming as a loud crash echoes throughout the town. Nicole stops firing and her eyes widen as one of the bodies of a Raider goes flying, hitting the ground in pieces. A roar pulls her attention to the biggest lizard looking creature she could ever imagine. It was probably as close to a dinosaur she would ever see._ _

__“Run! It’s a Deathclaw!”_ _

__The Deathclaw swipes its sharp claws at the Raiders as they began running. It was too fast for them. They stood no chance as the creature mowed them down. It bit into one of them, ripping them apart and tossing what remained to the side. Nicole tenses up when the creature makes eye contact with her, it’s bright yellow eyes burning into her mind. There was screaming from behind her, but she couldn’t take her focus off of the Deathclaw as it stalked towards her. It roars once again before charging towards her, Nicole heading into a full panic mode. She begins firing at the creature with her minigun, but it just kept coming. The woman moves to run, but it gets to her too quickly. She yells out as it slashes at her, sending her crashing to the ground and the minigun out of her hands. The power armor started displaying an error message as parts of the armor began to deteriorate from being attacked._ _

__“Leave her alone!” Preston Garvey yells as he starts firing at the deathclaw from the balcony. The giant lizard roars once again, but turns back to Nicole, charging at her again. She had barely gotten up again before getting rammed into. A scream left her as the Deathclaws horns stabbed into her body. The woman began shaking and she spits up some blood, crying out as the Deathclaw threw her across the ground. The alarms in the power armor started screaming at her, it shutting down. “No! No, no no!” The woman yells as she breathes heavily, gritting her teeth from pain. The Deathclaw stalks up to her, standing above her as its eyes scan her body. This was where she died. She was going to be dead long before she even got close to finding Shaun. Her eyes go wide as the creature slashes at her helmet, it sending it flying from her head, its nails cutting across her face. Her breathing quickened as she started to panic, her eyes wide with fear. The Deathclaw moves to go in for the kill, but a snarl catches its attention. Dogmeat comes running up and jumping onto it’s back, biting into it. The lizard roars and backs away, trying to get the dog off. Nicole sat there, unable to move as she watched the two animals fight._ _

__“Nicole, run!” Those words cutting through her and she gets out of the Power Armor, stumbling away from it. She looks around and finds a sawed-off shotgun, checking to see it only had two shells in it. A yelp causes her to look towards the fight, Dogmeat being thrown against a car. “No!” She yells and runs towards him, getting cut off by the Deathclaw. It growls lowly, arching its body as it began to get ready to charge. It starts charging towards the woman, Nicole raising the shotgun. She waits until it gets close enough, firing both shots into its mouth, dropping the giant lizard. The woman backs away quickly as she looks it over, falling to her knees seeing as it was dead. “Fuck…” Nicole whispers and then looks down at her body, a stab wound in her stomach and chest. Blood stained her vault suit and her vision began to grow blurry. She wanted to go and check on Dogmeat, but her body falls to the ground. Yelling came from the building where Preston had been, the woman blacking out before they could reach her._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyo! Sorry it took so long for the second chapter. I just wanted to let you all know that there is a paragraph that is part of a flashback scene. It wouldn't italicize for me when I was getting ready to post it :/


End file.
